I know everyone has to go through it, and actually.. I'm 16 so I'm almost finished with being labled as "Underage". Although, the closer I get to 18.. It feels like the further away I am from it.. And being underage isn't so bad, but here are a few reasons I still despise it.
1. We have no power.
Ever tried to give someone advice while you were underage? No? Well you can if you want.. it's a waste of breath though. We aren't listened to because of our age:
"Hes just a kid, don't listen to him" "They don't know what they're doing" "They're young, and dumb" What we say... doesn't matter, at the end of the day.. We're "just kids"
2. Stereotype
People think teens are just ... unaware of life consequences - we are aware. When we go out with friends, it doesn't mean we're getting in trouble, or stealing, drinking, or smoking.. Actually, when I go out with my friends you know what we do? We go to the park 3 blocks from my house and watch the college campus students play basketball outside. They even know us and have us keep score. We don't drink, smoke, or steal.. and actually my dad let me invite a few girls and guys to a sleepover, because he trusts me. He knows I'm responsible. He knows I won't do anytthing dumb, because he actually knows I know what consequences are.
3. School
Before you skip this subject, it's not even about the bullying or the overload of work. It's about what's making us have to do it. I know a lot about this, trust me. I went through a deep depression because a family member of mine left, wilingly to another family 1 block down the street, and we see them do things as a family all the time.
Anyways, it caused me to miss a lot of school. I felt like crap and didn't even want to look away from my bed, so not only did I miss a lot of school, I failed a grade just for missing school. In school, it's like a pre-prison, literally. The food there is so dirty the teachers don't even eat it. They order their food. We can't, in fact. There are a lot of things we can't do. Like switch our classes. Maybe we're not interested in that subject, or maybe someone's picking on us. Guess what, you're a kid, go to class.
In college, you can leave. If you want go ahead and leave, nobody cares if you leave. In high school, they call security and throw you in what I like to call "solitary confinement" because that's what it is. You literally do nothing but sit in there all day, and you can't even talk for 6 - 7 hours straight.
Oh yeah, if you do magange to get past the guards and get out the building you're suspended. Oh you get suspended? Guess what, you have a court date for missing a week of school. You go to the court date and get 2 warnings. The 3rd time, guess what you get!!?
Foster care!!! Awesome, right? They force you out of your home, force you to school, and force you in class if they have to, and I dont mean force as in yell at you and demand you to... I mean literally, they will drag you out of the home. Oh you don't want to leave? Guess what? Who cares? You're a dumb a kid!!!
Getting bullied? Oh well, either go to school and be bullied, or go to foster care and be forced to school so you can be bullied. Your choice.
4. Jailbait
Now look, this one I actually kind of understand. If I had a 14 year old daughter and she was having sexual activities with a man my age like around 30-40, I'd be more than pissed. But you know teens are curious,
expecially me being into older women. I think this is very wrong to be so strict about it. I mean ok, so a teen wants to know about a woman's or man's body, why so strict?
I mean if the older person wanted pictures of a 12 - 15 year old, I understand it being weird, but if the teen is like 16 and wants picture of a woman' s or mans fully developed body, I dont see whats so wrong? I don't even think it's wrong for them to exchange pictures as long as the teens at least like 16.
Now if they want to get physical and touch each other it's different. But if they want to just learn about each other and show the teen how everything works, I don't see whats so bad about it?
I have to get ready for school now.. Yeah i HAVE to.
there's no choosing or deciding.
i have to go with
who they want me to
when they want me to
where they want me to
how they want me to
and i have no say so what so... ever
you know why?
simple answer really
because im
just a kid.
with the natural logic i have im mentally older than they are.
They allow a 16 year old to drive
but won't let him choose his own classes
you tell me what kinda logic that is? please.
Why Being A Minor Is So Difficult
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Anonymous
(45 Plus)
+1 y
Which city and country are you from? Could you please post an update asking all of the other opinion owners which city and country they are from? I'm 36, and I've been to school in several different countries. I have a degree in electronics engineering, with 18 years of work experience, unless you add the big money I made from 14 to 18 when I was UNDERAGE! :-) , by showing interest in my mom's work, which she paid me for learning and helping her. I looked up words for her in the dictionary and helped her by reading out loud, also with rewriting, and filing. Anyway, I believe that there is something seriously wrong with school systems, and as adults we are responsible to do something about it. I was a smart responsible child who was always expected to dumb herself down and was treated like an idiot at school by some overworked, underpaid moron who became a teacher because they were too lame to deal with the grown up world, and defenseless children were the only social group whom they could force their B. S. on. No offense to good teachers, I had a handful that knew their jobs well, loved it, and actually made a difference in my life. They are the only reason I survived those terrible years. And I completely disagree with pushing kids to be kids for too long. Most kids mature long before 18, and it's unfair to them to not be able to live life to their maximum potential, just because others remain stupid for longer. Even so, if someone is still stupid by 14, they will likely remain so for the rest of their lives. Plus, life is so short, (specially for girls who's lives, like it or not, are influenced a lot by their reproductive potential which ends at 40. But that's a subject that requires an entire study by itself), and I don't think it takes 12 years to for someone to learn how to read and write and learn some basic math and a bit of biology and history and geography. I personally completed high school work in 3 times over in 3 different countries because we moved around a lot, and it didn't hurt at all. Who came up with 18 anyway? Children have much higher IQ's these days and someone MUST revise that law. Anyway I'm sorry for your pain. I'm homeschooling my 2 kids because I think the public school system is not only inefficient, but also harmful to their mental and emotional health. Also very expensive and near impossible to fix once it is damaged...
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Opinion Owner
+1 y
I'm not religious, but speak from a spiritual and scientific point of view. God blessed us with parents so we would each have a chance to receive the unique care and attention that we need in order to develop properly and become healthy, happy and successful adults. We weren't meant to be shut up in a barn with tons of other people like a bunch of sheep so that our parents can go out and work and make rich people richer, while they brainwash our kids into being brainless robot slaves and grow up to continue serving them. Have you ever wondered why they charge you an arm and a leg for any kind of service, but school is free? Because that's where they get a chance to easily contaminate the blank innocent minds of our children into thinking they must blindly obey and bow down to the whims of corporate. I don't disagree with learning, I've even hired experienced tutors to teach my children some of the more sensitive scientific subjects. But if I catch them trying to teach my...
... children how to behave, they are dead meat! So trust your instincts. If you're truly unhappy, there's a legitimate reason behind it. You sound smart. Maybe you should've gone to a special school for more intelligent students. I did. Your father seems to be a nice & understanding person. I know this may not sound comfortable, but if you express only your true feelings about school the way you did in your question, or maybe just write him letter, & ask him to have you homeschooled, maybe you can get out of this. Online schools are also much better than public schools, & don't worry, you won't be missing out on important information & lessons. They're not that big of a deal anyway :-) I've seen children in small poverty stricken, starving, remote villages who learn from newspaper scraps, or speak better French than the French themselves just by watching one small black and white tv shared by the entire village. Also, please get some counseling to heal your pain. It's crucial.
Consider the 7 billion human beings alive today will have gone through being a minor, how hard can it be? You're like that kid who complains about "all the exams and tests" that you have in school. But fail to realize you're complaining to your fellow classmates who are in the exact same class, doing the exact same assignments and exams.
There are those who just love swimming in the pity of others. They like to tell others what a hard time they're having. Woe is me. I have it so rough. Grow up. You think you are mentally older than those who are physically older than you? Doesn't sound like it.
I hate school. It's a prison. We're REQUIRED to attend school at all times. It's ILLEGAL to stay home. School makes me extremely happy, but the adults don't care about that. I went through a lot in middle school. I became severely depressed, I wanted to die, I was being bullied, and there was a lot of domestic abuse. I couldn't focus on school. I just wanted to lay my head down until the pain was gone. All the teachers hated me because I wouldn't do my work, but none of them actually asked me why. They didn't care. Not one teacher seemed to see my pain. They were oblivious to the fact that I'd cry in class and miss a lot of days. Because of that, I will forever despise the education system. I get that their only job is to TEACH you, but, when a child is clearly unable to get work done, doesn't that raise some concern? Do they REALLY have to do the work? I couldn't get stuff done. I tried, but I had no motivation, and schools never give you motivation or try to help you. Today I've chosen to stay home. Even though it's high school and my life has gotten better, I'm still depressed, and school still makes me extremely unhappy. I just got back from a two week break. It's only been two days, but I'm sick of going to school. I was SO happy during that break. I felt like I was slowly getting better. The second I went back to school, the pain returned. Children have no power... Nobody will listen, and they spend 18 years of their life being completely controlled by others. Why is school required, anyway? What good does it do?
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myTake Owner
+1 y
I know what you mean about the missing schools and teachers but I actually have a teacher I like Because I missed so many days he told me if I'm on time everyday he would buy me a pair of beats
The reason why adults don't respect grade school kids is because they have no idea what it is like to live in the harsh real world. Adults think they know best because they know how cruel the real-world is and the vast majority of grade-school kids have no idea.
I say "think" because a lot of adults, admittingly, are idiots aswell and just think that they know better because of their ego. Everyone wants to think that they are better than the next guy and grade school kids are an easy target. When you look at someone 5-10 years younger than you, you don't think that you know better than them, even though some 5 year olds are extremely talented musicians who run mini-companies, who you will never be as good as? That is what is going on in these adults heads.
Life will get better as you get more power over your own life. Most people over romanticize the past and think their childhood was better than it was. There is no such thing as the good old days. The fact is this is likely to be the worst part of your life, and things should only get better from here.
Even you however will likely eventually forget the problems you have now, and how bad they really were at the, and brush them aside when your own children have these same issues. That is why so many people refuse to listen to young people and say "Well that is life, get use to it." People always things their own problems are worse, and kids don't have the power to do anything about their problems being ignored.
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Anonymous
(30-35)
+1 y
I have seen when I was in middle school myself a couple classmates who did become sexual get arrested, due to the fact that the age of consent laws. A 15 year old guy who's girlfriend was 13. Her parents learned they were becoming sexual together through instant messages and behavior. He was reported to police, arrested at school and charged with statutory rape. Forced to register as a sex offender for it! Happened to two different classmates at my school.
A girl I knew was passing naked pics of herself to a guy in high school and she was busted, charged with child porn and had to also register as a sex offender, for taking pics of herself as she was "underage" (16). Crazy I know but there are laws that are vague and not much clarity. Don't do anything sexual til 18, just too much risk.
Many minors are becoming sex offenders at young ages and continue to, even with the so called "Romeo and Juliet" clauses.
What you forget is that everybody who says you're young and doesn't take your advice seriously was once a 16 year old who thought they knew it all, but then. later on realise they didn't have the life experience or the knowledge they thought they had. You'll change a lot as you get older and probably realise that a lot of the ideas you had at 16 were silly.
First bit I agree with. The rest came across as whiny. And tbh, school really isn't that bad; the food at yours sounds shit but come on. Maybe here in the uk it's different, but secondary school was actually pretty good, and we chose most of our subjects for the last three years (for our GCSEs)
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myTake Owner
+1 y
school here is poop they give us cold chicken tasteless hamburgers with hard bread peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches which are probably molding and nasty chocolate milk that doesn't even taste like chocolate half the time many more thats why i dont even eat there i starve until i get home
you can but my lunch is at 12:20 so by time lunch comes its no good anyway unless its like apples or something which doesn't really fill me up just increases my apatite
Everyone goes through it. There are advantages and disadvantages with every age group though.
Having said that, I don't miss high school at all. I'd take my last 2 years of college over high school any day.
As far as driving but not choosing classes go, the driving age is 16 because the legal age to work is 16. I did get to choose some of my own classes such as electives but you don't choose all your classes because there's a curriculum in high school for everyone.
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myTake Owner
+1 y
yeah thats what i mean and i get to choose my electives next year when im a sophmore
Yes, some minors are smart in terms of their decisions. However, some are not. And even those that are smart can and do have their moments where they say or do something stupid. Yes, being underage did have it's cons. But it's only because that's the way life is.
It's true ! now that i'm 18, I don't take sh*t from anyone, I can do what I want and I'm expected to act like an adult. No one listens when you're underage forreal. it was so annoying !
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